Strangers
by WhenTheSaintsGoMarchingIn
Summary: Parentless Blaze Sun-Blinder is best friends with Kel Ember-Stone, who is cousin of Elisif the Fair. Elisif doesn't like Blaze, and arranges a marriage between Kel and an unknown princess. Their friendship is tested, but it may not be strong enough.
1. Prologue

**Holla. Another attempt at a new story. Maybe I'll like this one. Merp.**

**Please note that the timeline is before Skyrim and after Oblivion, but set in Skyrim's world.**

**PROLOGUE. JAXSTON POV.**

She had come to me two months ago, eight months into her pregnancy. She told me she had come to me in Solitude to escape the shame of such young motherhood. Her name was Muiri, only twenty winters into life. All of Markarth believed she was away on a job errand for, including the apothecary for whom she was an assistant. It had taken me some time to piece together her story, but it had slowly fallen into place by way of questions and observations.

Muiri had met a man named Alain Dufont back when she lived in Windhelm. They became romantic, but were broken up when she discovered he was a bandit using her to get close to the Shatter-Shields, a prominent Windhelm family. Once this came out, the Shatter-Shields drove her to Markarth. A few months later – for she was a slender woman – Muiri discovered she was pregnant, the signs growing clearer and clearer with every passing week. At the last minute, she came to me, the headmistress of the always-empty orphanage in Solitude.

Now, a month after her pregnancy, she was getting uneasy, much like an untamed mare. She wanted to head back to Markarth, needing both coin and to keep up with her story. Muiri did not want her child, and was leaving her in my care. Even if she had wanted the child, I would have kept her – sometime during her brief stint in Solitude, she had become a skooma user, and showed in the child's name. Blaze Sun-Blinder.

She did not leave anything to this child – not even a septim or a memory of Muiri, no matter how faint it might be.

"Well, I'm off. Thank you for letting me stay with you, Jaxston. You're a very kind woman for taking me in when I had no one else." Muiri said these words without looking at me, as if she wished to hurry the process of leaving. Her short brown hair was no longer short; it hung in her eyes and hid her relief from me.

"It was not a problem. A headmistress must be prepared for situations like this. Have a safe trip to Markarth, Muiri." I replied in my throaty voice. She set off, not once looking back over her shoulder at the child she was leaving behind.

I closed the door, and walked through the hall, to the cradle that held the girl aloft. She looked nothing like her now permanently absent mother, except for her plump little mouth. Her bottom lip was little fuller than her upper, just like Muiri. Everything else must have come from her father. Wide gray eyes, straight nose, high cheekbones, and a strong jaw that had an almost manly ruggedness about it. She would grow into a fine lady one day.

She opened her eyelids, and stared into my green orbs. As soon as our eyes connected, I knew I could not put her up for adoption. I had never had a daughter – I had borne my late husband four children, all grown men with their own families now. My husband was happy to have so many strong little tykes to continue the family, but I had always wanted a girl. It seems that, belatedly, I had received my wish.

Soon, it had been a year, then two, and then three, and before I knew where the time went, she was walking. Blaze learned to talk very quickly, constantly asking me questions about everything.

Blaze had nothing in common with Muiri, her biological mother. Whereas Muiri kept mum about things until the end, when I pieced it together, Blaze spilled everything with a single look. When the child was four, she met a little boy who was a cousin to Jarl Elisif the Fair. The two were instantly thicker than mud. The little boy's name was Kel, and both were convinced there was no greater friendship than theirs. Talos knows how many times I had to tell Kel that he could not come live with us, or vice versa.

Sometimes, I look back and wonder what might have become of Blaze if Muiri had been the one to raise her. My gut always tells me that she was better off with me.

**Alriiiight, not much of anything yet, but it got the ball rolling. I will always put translations and pronunciations down here. Because I don't want anyone to have to go look it up for themselves. ;) **


	2. Chapter 1

**I think I might just update this a lot like right now. Because I am on a freaking roll here people. **

**CHAPTER ONE. BLAZE POV.**

Kel was my best friend. Everyone in Solitude turned up their noses and said that a boy and a girl couldn't be best friends because boys like playing in the mud and swimming in the harbor and because girls like playing dress up and doing house work. Boys wore pants and girls wore dresses. Night and day, Talos and Alduin. But that wasn't true. We did everything, from climbing fences to wrestling to drawing together in the dirt to playing house.

When I was six winters, and Kel was eight, we thought we found a snake. We had never heard of anyone ever finding a snake before, so we wanted to capture it to show off. I had the idea to tie my finest dress into a sack-like object to hold the creature, and Kel would prod it into the bag with a stick. Kel and I must have watched and prodded for an hour before Jaxston came out the back door of the orphanage and screamed bloody murder. Kel tried to calm her down, explaining that the snake was probably harmless, but all she could say was "What have you done to your dress?".

She later informed us that it was not a snake, that it was actually a length of rope coiled into a neat circular pile. Upon inspection, she was correct.

A year later, we were finally deemed old enough to go down to the harbor by ourselves and behave responsibly. Oh, what a mistake Jaxston and Kel's nanny made that day. Kel and I had gotten into a bit of a fight that day.

"Bet you I can skip this stone all the way to the other side of the water, Blaze."

"I don't think you can make that rock skip more than three times, Kel. You've got a weak arm. That's why I always win at wrestling."

"Do not! And one day, I'll be bigger and stronger so I won't lose as often!"

"You're lying, you milk-drinker!" I didn't know the meaning of the word milk-drinker, but I had heard Jaxston use it enough to times about somebody in town who had irritated her to know that it was a ripe insult.

"Take that back right now, Blaze!" I was pretty sure that Kel didn't know what it meant either, but like me, he could sense the insult.

And in that second, we lunged at each other, wrestling and pulling hair and biting. Before the guard could separate us, we had rolled off the edge of the dock and into the water. I lazily floated back up to the surface and easily treaded water. I swiveled my head, looking for my already-forgiven best friend, and turning my head with more urgency when I couldn't find him.

"Kel?" I asked out loud to what seemed to be nobody. "Kel!" I yelled a little louder.

I dove under, and forced my eyes open in the murky water, looking for him to see if he was okay. I must have dived under ten times before I resurfaced to hear a suspicious noise that sounded like my friend's distinct snicker. I wheeled around and slowly swam over to see Kel floating behind one of the poles holding up the dock, covering his hand trying not to laugh.

Seeing his goofy face, I couldn't stay mad at him, for initiating the fight or pulling this joke on me. I burst out laughing, and we clutched at our sides under water, struggling to laugh and tread water at the same time. We swam to the shore and lay on the ground that was half dirt, half sand, and stayed there until our clothes were dry.

Fast forward six winters, and I was thirteen, Kel fifteen. Despite living in Solitude all my life, I had not once been to the Blue Palace. I wanted to see it, and I told Kel so.

"Kel?"

"Mhmm?"

"Can I see the Blue Palace today?"

"Why do you want to go to that dusty old place? It's filled with stuffy people who do boring things and sit around decreeing laws."

I laughed and said teasingly "How can you talk about your cousin Elisif like that? She's engaged to High King Torygg now, right?"

"Oh, yes." Kel was dripping in sarcasm when he said this. I could tell by the way he yanked on his short brown hair and scrunched up his blue eyes so they crinkled at the corners. "Elisif and I used to be so close, and then she went and got an arranged marriage to Torygg. Torygg tries to tell me what to do. That's why I never go there unless I have to sleep."

"Well, it's not her fault that her father made her get engaged to him. So, can I see this place or not?" I was always especially bratty when I didn't immediately get an answer, whether it was negative or positive.

"Alright, I suppose." Kel said wearily. So began my first visit to the Blue Palace, and my first glimpse of my secret archenemy.

We ascended the stairs inside the palace, and the first thing I saw was the throne in the middle of the room. I ran to it and sat down in it, slouching to one side, feeling very much like a Jarl.

"How do I look, Ke-"

"What do you think you're doing?" A sharp female voice cut across mine. I looked to my right, not vacating the chair, and saw a woman about two feet taller than me and one hands breath wider glaring daggers at me with green eyes. Her brown hair was cut at about shoulder length, and even thought they were only cousins, I could immediately tell this was Elisif; the resemblance to Kel was something else.

"I'm sitting."

"In _my _throne."

I was bewildered. Why was this woman showing such dislike to me? I had never been here before, let alone had the chance to insult anyone yet.

I hopped up, and went to stand by Kel, who had his eyes downcast and hadn't said anything for a while. He was fidgeting with his hands.

"Get out of my sight, both of you." At the clear and harsh dismissal, we scampered out of there as fast as possible, almost tripping each other in our rush to get out the heavy wooden door and back into the sun.

When I deemed us a safe distance from the Blue Palace, I turned to Kel. "I don't meant to be rude, but how were you ever best friends with her? Not only is she old and thinks she knows better, but Elisif is downright mean to us."

Kel sighed. "She didn't used to be like that. Before she was engaged to Torygg and before we met you, she was a real laugh. Couldn't ever hold in a joke. But all of the royal affairs or whatever is getting her down. Elisif snaps at people a lot more now. Being the next High Queen of Skyrim must be dragging at her."

I nodded. This sounded like wise, sound logic to me. After all, he was two years older than me. He probably knew more than me.

Over the next few years, our lives started to separate us. Jaxston was absolutely thrilled when I started becoming interested in doing my long red hair, wearing dresses, and being a girl. The townspeople had always given Jaxston grief that I ran around in pants, not at all acceptable female behavior. I paid more attention to how I looked, instead of when I could see Kel again to play. I found myself embarrassed more often in front of Kel then normal.

When I was sixteen, Kel and I had almost completely detached ourselves of our childhood bond. We were still close friends, but we couldn't romp and tell each other secrets like we used to. I had a few more snarly encounters with Elisif – even after I had "straightened up" and begun behaving like a proper woman, she still seemed to harbor the most profound hatred for me in her heart. Jaxston had long ago suggested that I just stay out of her way, and I did just that.

Although she is several years my senior, I found myself spending most days with Katla on her farm just outside Solitude. Her mother taught her the strictest court manners and attributes, and Jaxston hoped for me to learn them in order to be less of a nuisance when I am ever in the Blue Palace. Katla is not much fun. She just sits and waits for me to finish whatever interesting thing I have to say before diving back into her lesson. I gave up trying to make friends with her a long time ago.

Every Sundas, Jaxston and I shut all the doors and windows and worship Talos. The White-Gold Concordat forbids it, but who are the elves to govern us? I am a little more passionate about it than Jaxston, who is a Redguard, and adopted our religions after moving here from Hammerfell. Whenever I start ranting about freedom of religion, she always says enough to placate me, then changes the subject, and I know that she isn't quite as fanatical as I am.

One day, I am looking for apples for Jaxston in the market. She wants to make some spiced cider for my birthday, the thirteenth of Rain's Hand. I don't often receive gifts or a simple 'happy birthday' from others because of the day. I was born on the Day of the Necromancer. It is customary that everyone hides in their houses while the necromancers celebrate. Jaxston and I don't really buy into it as much as others, and we entertain ourselves inside the house all day.

"Blaze?" I turn around the see Kel standing behind me, scratching the back of his head with an apologetic look. He has grown a lot since we were close. He is nearly six feet tall, towering over my five feet and three inches. Kel has been training to be a warrior – he wants to serve in the Imperial Army. He is much more muscular than I remember.

"What can I do for you, Kel?" I ask, still browsing the apples. When he doesn't answer, I look up to see what's the matter.

"Uh, well, Jaxston said you wanted to learn how to use a sword?" He posed it as a question, as if he didn't know whether this was true.

In fact, it was very much true. I had heard the bards singing songs of the heroes of old all my life and I had gotten it into my head that one day they would sing songs about me. I wanted to be an adventurer, exploring everything Skyrim had to offer, cutting down enemies left and right.

"Yes. Why?"

"She thought I could give you lessons."

"Oh. That sounds great! When can we start?" He seemed taken aback by my eagerness to learn, and I suspected that Jaxston hadn't warned him of just how badly I wanted to do this.

"Um, soon, I guess. I'll have to check when I have free time. I'll send a currier when I know."

"That sounds great, Kel."

"Well, then I guess I'll see you around then, Blaze."

"Bye."

As he walked away, my toes tingled. I quickly selected eight of the apples, and practically sprinted to the house.

"Jaxston! I'm going to be dangerous one day! Kel's going to teach me to swing a sword and then you'll be sorry about all those times you made me go to bed early!" I screamed in good nature upon reaching the orphanage.

Jaxston appeared at the top of the stairs, hands on her hips.

"Are you still holding grudges against me from ten years ago?" She asked with a grin on her weathered face and a twinkle in her eye.

Jaxston was probably quite a catch in her prime. She had the darkened skin of all Redguards, the same black hair, but unlike most of her kind, her long shiny hair was curly. Back when her face was unlined and smooth, her natural beauty must have shone through every time she smiled. Her eyes were a bright blue, rimmed by long lashes. Even now, with forty seven years' experience tucked under her belt, she could still turn heads when she dressed up.

"Of course, Jaxston. Don't you remember when I told you I'd get you back, even if it was the last thing I did?" I asked, setting the apples on the table.

"Alright, alright. So Kel offered you lessons?" She inquired.

"Yes. During so, we will become best friends again, and then we will conquer all of Tamriel together!" I had missed my best friend more than I let on day to day. There weren't a lot of people my age in Solitude, and so Jaxston had become my confidant for everything. It helped that she seemed to know what to do with every situation.

"That sounds lovely. You have to name an important landmark after me once you two are Emperors." Jaxston was also one of the few people who put up with my nonsensical shenanigans.

"Now, Blaze, can you please head up to your room and clean it? It is positively filthy."

"But Jaxston.."

"No ifs, ands, or buts. Clean it."

Damn. I was ready to face all of Tamriel, but house work? No way.

**:)**


	3. Chapter 2

**Oh, Bethesda Game Studios owns Skyrim. (I don't know if I already said it…?) If it was actually mine, I would definitely be bragging about it all the time.**

**CHAPTER TWO. BLAZE POV.**

"You can't hold a sword like that, Blaze."

Kel readjusted my grip on the sword he'd given me to practice with. He gave me a dulled iron sword because one, dull means bruising instead of scratches, and two, iron will shatter the easiest and therefore won't be missed if I break it. What I didn't realize is that the first few weeks of practicing would be me standing around holding the sword; "adjusting to its weight" or whatever stupid reason Kel gave me.

I let the sword clatter to the floor. "Kel, when do I get to kill something?" He gave me a startled look.

"You planning on murdering someone?"

"You." I deadpanned, not breaking eye contact, and casually shifting my weight to my other foot. He hesitated for a moment, and a nervous chuckle clawed its way out of his mouth.

"You almost had me there…real funny, Blaze…" Kel said this half-heartedly, as if he still was unconvinced that I wouldn't sneak into the castle one night and slay him if he taught me to wield a sword.

I finally broke down and laughed at him. I picked up the sword again, and he came over to adjust my hold on it. He sighed when he saw my stance. "Blaze, you have to keep your muscles loose. You can't just grip your weapon like it's the only thing keeping you alive."

"What if it is? What if it's me against the Soul-Devourer one day, and my muscles are so loose that I can't even stand?"

"Blaze, that will never happen. You're about as close to being the Dragonborn as I am to being Talos." I threw him an indignant look at that.

"I'll remember that when I have to save all of Tamriel. I think you might not make it." I chuckled a bit to let him know I was kidding.

"You have to keep your arm up the whole time."

While I was talking to him, I had subconsciously let my arm drop to my side. It wasn't my fault: Kel had decided that I should learn how to fight while wearing armor so I would be used to it. All of my body felt heavy with the extra weight, and I didn't like the extra noise it made when I moved. The first time I put on my armor, I was sitting so I could pull on my boots, and when I stood up, I fell right back over because I was off balance. Kel didn't help me, just laughed. He wasn't laughing when I tackled him to the floor and wrestled the grin off his face.

It wasn't very ladylike of me, but I won. That's all that mattered to me.

With a quick jerk, I swung my arm back up, watching with satisfaction as Kel had to jump out of the way to avoid being cut. He scowled, probably wondering why I always jokingly threatened to cause him bodily harm.

"Just for that, we are going to hold this pose for fifteen minutes." I groaned, already regretting my actions.

I held my sword aloft easily for the first few minutes, but a little over halfway through my arm was literally shaking. Kel glanced at it and laughed, his arm straight as a stick. I growled and contemplated beheading him before deciding that would only serve to cause me more trouble. There would be too many questions, a trial, and most likely a guilty verdict on my part if I didn't flee soon enough. And there would be Elisif to contend with.

Oh, Talos.

That woman was on my case like flies on horseshit. Not that I'm anything near horseshit. She had the strongest dislike of me possible, and often mocked me publicly or downright ruined my day. The bitch had had it in for me for as long as I could remember, and Jaxston had told me that since she already hated me without reason, I should not give her a reason to hate me, her being the next High Queen of Skyrim and all.

That didn't mean I didn't like to push her buttons.

She despised that fact that Kel, her dear baby cousin, had anything to do with a savage peasant like me. It rubbed her the wrong way anytime we saw each other really. I saw this as a win-win for me: not only do I get my best friend back, I get to secretly piss off Elisif without looking like I mean to.

"Blaze, I swear to Oblivion and back, it's like you're not even trying to learn how to use a sword!" Kel snapped his fingers in my face twice to get my attention, and I glared.

"Well, start teaching me techniques then! If I just get to stand around and hold a sword aloft, I will obviously get bored, and then my focus will wonder off!" Kel rolled his eyes at my logic because he wanted to deny that I was right.

Kel finally caved, and he started to teach me basic stances, where to put my feet, how to predict where my opponent would strike. Useful things that kept me interested. We had been mock fighting for an hour when several people entered the courtyard where the guards normally trained that we had stolen for the lesson.

Falk Firebeard, in all his red beard's glory, swept into the room first, accompanied by Elisif and her housecarl. I liked Falk all right; when he wasn't on duty, he was good company, always cracking jokes and letting me get away with a little mead now and then. He said one day he'd get into a proper drinking contest with me; teach me how to hold my liquor sometime. Falk was a big brute of a Nord, with the heart and compassion to go along with his flaming red hair and fair complexion. He could almost pass for my father if my eyes were not the most peculiar shade of bright gray.

Elisif, as usual, looked the part of High Queen perfectly, and shot me my customary disgusted glance that she always greeted me with. Not a strand of brown hair out of place, dress as regal and silk-covered as ever. I bowed, but it was more like a jerk of my head.

"Lord Kel, Blaze, Jarl Elisif would like for you two to attend her wedding. There will be a feast afterwards, and she would be delighted if you came." Falk said this smoothly, once again directing everyone's attention away from my and Elisif's stare down that was always fraught with tension. I couldn't help a small snort.

Falk looked at me. "Blaze, you will be required to wear a dress, should you attend." The only reason I was ever invited to these things was because Kel probably begged her to death to do so. I had "inadvertently" put insult to injury by showing up to her last party in a tunic and breeches, effectively "ruining" Elisif's little get-together. Afterwards, both Elisif and Jaxston had really laid into me, claiming that since I was fifteen at the time, I was far too old to be running around in pants anyways.

"Oh, Falk, you always know how to soften a girl up. I'll be there. Wouldn't want this party getting too out of hand." I grinned and turned my face so Elisif wouldn't see me wink at him.

"Of course, I'll come too, Elisif." Ah, Kel. Rude as she might be to him, he always held out hope that she might revert back to the old Elisif he used to know.

The great and mighty Jarl sniffed her nose and turned to leave, having not said a word to either of us.

As her guard and Elisif headed through the doorway, Falk turned back to whisper something to me. "This time, don't leave the main party before I give the signal. The last time we started our own celebration, you nearly gave us away!" With a grin and a chuckle, he sped after his Jarl.

Kel turned to look at me, no doubt confused. I sighed, and turned to explain to him. For as long as Elisif was Jarl and Falk was her steward, he had had his own secret parties on the outskirts of hers. A couple of the Thanes and nobles who liked to let loose, Falk, me, a few of the city guard, and a couple of the citizens of Solitude liked to sneak away during Elisif's celebration, and meet at the Winking Skeever. Corpulus always had it cleared out of the usual rabble so our get-togethers were always a secret, and he liked our party better anyways.

The last party had taken place while the feast celebrating Elisif's engagement to Torygg went on. My signal to slip away from the party had been Falk trying to convince the bard to play 'Ragnar the Red', a long forbidden song for a festival of this stature. I had left too early and abruptly, causing Elisif to ask Falk where I had gone. (It seemed that even though she clearly had the superior rank, she didn't trust me not to pull childish pranks on her. Which I hadn't done since I was ten winters.) He told her I probably just didn't want to be there, which was true.

"So you guys do this every time Elisif hosts a festival?" Kel asked me in awe.

"Yep. We never invited you because we figured you'd snitch on us to Elisif, and because you always headed up to go to sleep at midnight, you little milk-drinker." I said it jokingly, and he laughed with me. I was suddenly reminded of a time when I was younger and I called him that, right before splashing into the harbor.

I slung my sword a bit, liking the way the air whistled as I whipped it around, dueling imaginary foes. "Kel, why did you agree to train me?" I asked out of the blue.

"Well… I guess it was because I missed you. I missed us being friends. All of the nobles kids that Elisif wants me to befriend, they're all stuffy and won't get their clothes dirty like you will. They may as well have never heard of a practical joke before." He answered, sincerity practically dripping.

"I like that answer."

"Good. Now pick your sword up again. Let me show how a real sword master does it!" We both grinned and started hacking at each other.

**IT'S ALL COMING TOGETHER PERFECTLY!...Oh, too soon. Lol, too funny guys. ;)**


	4. Chapter 3

**Here we go again.**

**CHAPTER THREE. BLAZE POV.**

"No, Jaxston, any dress but the yellow one! It is unbelievably ugly." I moan out as Jaxston practically rips her brush through my tangled red mane of hair. It's like she's actually trying to punish me for what I did to myself this morning. She might be though, seeing as the party Elisif had "invited" me to a few weeks ago was happening tonight.

Jaxston pursed her lips, eyeing the feminine articles of clothing that I owned and probably was disappointed with the meager pool that it was. All the other girls in Solitude were always begging for a new dress from Radiant Raiment or somewhere, and I'm always begging for Jaxston not to take me there because it's so horribly dull and boring. I'd much rather go help Katla on her farm.

That had been Kel's idea – about five months after training began, he decided that in order for me to build up muscle, I would go help Katla with farming three days a week. Jaxston had put her stamp of approval on it when she learned that Katla was teaching me manners and etiquette while we worked.

Katla was seventeen years my senior, and had contracted Rockjoint a few years ago, when fighting off a stray wolf that kept killing her roosters. She never had had herself cured though, causing lots of speculation in the townsfolk.

Normally I did jobs for her like fixing fences, chopping wood, and smithing new tools to replace the broken ones. This morning, the time of the "incident" according to Jaxston, Katla decided to give me a chance to do a harder job than the bare basics I had been performing. She had wanted me to fetch water from the harbor and bring it up to the farm. It sounded easy, but was extremely difficult. The distance of the farm from the harbor, the steepness of the climb both ways, and the weight of the bucket sloshing water everywhere was tiresome, and the trip to and from the harbor had to be carried out sixteen times to fill the barrel that stored Katla's freshwater on her porch.

The night before, it had rained pretty hard, making the dirt roads slick and slippery. It had stopped early this morning, leaving a cool, damp feeling to the air. Katla had been hesitant to dole out the task to me, but her joints were killing her this morning. After appointing me the job, she showed me the bucket before sending me on my way.

The first seven trips were grueling but easily accomplished, the trek back to the harbor allowing my tired arms reprieve from the weight of the full bucket. I had just filled up my eighth bucketful of clear water and was making my way along the docks when I heard two guards gossiping. Clad in the standard red armor and Imperial braces and helmets, the man and woman kept glancing around furtively to see that the captain of the guard was not around to send them back to work.

I quickly hid behind a merchant's stall, using the pretense of re-lacing my boot as an excuse to eavesdrop. The guards always had the juiciest gossip around Solitude. They were in the presence of snobby nobles from all over Skyrim who payed little mind to the guards – after all, they were simply paid to stand there at the exquisite parties that nobles threw. I tilted my head forward, both to hear better and hide that I was listening behind my long copper hair.

"Did you hear the news about Elisif's little boy?" The woman's thick Nordic accent made Kel's nickname amongst the guards almost unrecognizable. He had come to live with her when he was six, and the name had stuck even though he was now eighteen, a man.

"Yeah, I did. Gunjar told me over ale two nights ago." My curiosity was piqued: Kel was not usually one to be gossiped about, and although we were not as close as we used to be, we shared a lot of things with each other. The man's voice was smooth and oily, and it felt like it was stuck on my skin.

"Odd thing, that. Based on how much time he spends with her, I would have thought the lad would have gone for ol' Jaxston's girl." While the woman speculated, I kept unlacing and re-lacing my boots, curious as to why I would also be involved in Kel-related gossip. I was never the talk of the town – I only really talked to Kel, Jaxston, Falk, Katla, and of course, the usual barbs directed towards Elisif.

"That's what the whole town thought. But it turns out that Elisif wanted a political marriage between the little lad and the Jarl of Markarth's daughter. Igmund threatened to leave the Empire because they weren't getting enough shipments from the Empire because of the war." The male guard cast a quick glance around, and it landed on me for a second before flickering back to search for their supervisor.

Kel had an arranged marriage?

I had not seen a sign of another feminine presence in the Blue Palace during all my trips up there for weapons lessons. I could only assume that this had not occurred yet, but somehow the guards caught wind of it.

I finally straightened up, rolling my shoulders a bit to loosen them up from pretending to crouch, deciding that to remain there any longer would arouse suspicion. I reluctantly plucked up my full bucket, careful to slosh as little water as possible. As I passed the guards, they stared at me, as if they knew that I had overheard. When I passed in front of her, the woman opened her mouth as if to speak to me, but closed it when I looked at her.

I started to make my way up the docks, still thinking about Kel and his bride to be. I couldn't remember much about the daughter of the Jarl of Markarth. Jaxston had taught me about all of the Holds and their Jarls, and we had briefly touched on the children and family of the Jarls. All I could remember clearly was Jaxston saying I looked a good deal like her. The only obvious differences were hair and eye color, and she was three years my elder.

I was climbing the steepest part of the hill, still wrapped in thoughts of Kel and his impending marriage, when I placed my left boot in a huge puddle of mud and slipped backwards. Not only did the water spill all over me, I slid about a quarter of the way down the hill before I could regain my footing. I gave up with filling the water – the half barrel that Katla had would serve her a few days, at least until I could find time to refill the barrel when it was dry out. I quickly scrambled back up the incline before stumbling to a stop in Katla's doorway.

"Katla! Katla, do you have any extra clothes I could borrow?" I yelled through the door, plopping onto the porch and waiting for her to respond.

Her throaty voice floated towards me as she made her way through her house. "Of course I have extra clothes, but what in Talos are you doing that requires them?" Katla stopped short when she saw me, covered in mud from head to toe on her porch.

"Divines, child, what have you been doing?" She exclaimed, her steel eyes shifting from dirt spot to dirt spot on my trousers and shirt while her hands reached up to readjust the cap she always wore.

I shifted slightly under her gaze, feeling embarrassed that I couldn't perform this one task for her. "Slipped in the mud," I muttered, keeping my eyes down on the wooden planks of her porch. She sighed and waved me off, saying she would finish the chore and that I should head back to Jaxston to clean up before the party today.

As I trekked up the hill to Solitude, thoughts were churning like giant waves in my oceanic mind. I barely noticed Jaxston scolding me for tracking dirt into the house until she smacked me in the face. "Are you even listening to me? I must have said your name a thousand times, Blaze!" She said in frustration, glowering down at me. Most Nords were tall, but not me. I was a mere five foot even.

"I was just ... distracted, is all. I heard some gossip down on the docks." I muttered, leaning over to remove my shoes and put them out on the back porch. I turned and grabbed some rags and a bucket, dipping the bucket into our water barrel to start cleaning the mud I brought into the house.

Jaxston sniffed, never having approved of gossip in any shape or form. She was only interested in court politics and affairs, if you even count that as gossip. I rolled my eyes, knowing my next words would reel her in.

"It was about Kel."

She turned back around to face me, knowing she had no choice but to inquire further about my statement. "What, exactly, was about Kel?"

I shrugged casually. "He has an arranged marriage to the Jarl of Markarth's daughter. Elisif wanted more political unity because of the complaints made about the lack of resources received by Igmund." I watched as it sunk in, her expression wistful. She seemed to shrink before my eyes, growing older and her face wrinkling. Jaxston was by no means a maiden – she had told me she was thirty winters old when she found me on her doorstep. But I could see know that, sixteen years later, time had taken its toll on her. I looked in her eyes, and I knew she wasn't looking at me. Jaxston was probably remembering when Kel was a wee little lad, running wild with me through the streets of Solitude.

She shook her head, her brown hair shot through with silver. "Enough of that palace gossip. We need to get you cleaned up and ready for Elisif's big dinner tonight."

We finally compromised on appropriate clothing for the occasion. A deep emerald green long sleeve dress, the bodice tightly fitting with a moderate cut across the chest, and a flowing skirt that stopped right above my ankles. Jaxston approved because "it brought out the red in my hair" or something like that. I liked that I could still hike up the skirts and move fast than a crawl if I wanted to.

We set out together – for Elisif had invited practically everyone to the occasion – and headed up the hill to the Blue Palace. I immediately was separated from Jaxston by a few people as we joined the steady stream of people walking the same way. I accidently bumped shoulders with Jaree-Ra, causing a cold glare and a hiss to reach me from the shifty Argonian. I shuffled a few people away, not quite trusting him to not pick my pocket. _Not that I have pockets in this cursed dress_, I thought, glancing down at my attire.

I walked under the arch that marked the courtyard of the Blue Palace, feeling much younger than I was, recalling the first time I entered this place. I passed through the door, entering the foyer of the palace. We entered the dining hall, and I saw three figures standing at the head. Elisif was there, wearing a regal sapphire dress with a low cut. Whore. There was Kel, brown hair a mess as usual, wearing dress clothes for once.

And there was his bride to be, standing proudly by his side.

**I swear to God, if no one gets the Harry Potter reference, I will cry. It might not be very clear, but it's there. **


End file.
